Format your book in word

To reserve space on the inside fold for binding, increase the width of the gutter. You need to see the formatting marks, so turn them on. For the layout, a professional book designer would take your word document and format it in adobe indesign, but the book should not be written in indesign, which is a page layout program. Adobe acrobat takes your word document and displays it. List all your books on this page using the normal style. Next, click the margins tab, click custom margins at the bottom of the options, and change top. Word is the best word processor to write your book in. Applying a style to an element of your book file takes a fraction of the time required for manual formatting. Format book in word everything you need to format your. No doubt about it, word has hundreds of features and tools, but you dont need all of them when formatting a book.

How to format your book in word is complete with examples, many screenshots, and example files. How to format a picture book manuscript for publishers. Publish beautiful books and keep 100% royalties at completelynovel, we like to do things a little differently. Formatting a book in microsoft word book formatting made easy. Word is better at converting to a pdf than it used to bebut its still not awesome, and its especially bad if your book contains images. How to format a book in microsoft word with pictures getting started. How to format your word document for book printing on mac. Once your title page is complete, youll want to insert a page break. Are you spending too much time on your novels text design.

Do not use tab or spaces to indentthis will be invisible on the page, but will drive your typesetter crazy. You can use the preset styles in microsoft word or modify them for a custom look. Its also a good place to include advertisements for any other books that you are selling. Within ebooks, hyperlinks, with a touch of a finger or the click of the mouse, will take your readers to where you want them to be. Chapter 1 offers the basic structure of paper books. After you format your manuscript in word, add finishing touches with kindle create. Every section you include in your manuscript foreword, dedication, chapters, etc. The book version of how to format your book in word is very near to being published, and im looking for beta readers. This book is a goldmine for anyone trying to learn how to format their own books. Even if you dont use a book template, you can still write a book using microsoft word just be aware that you may have to spend more time formatting your book when its time to publish it. Free book design templates and tutorials for formatting in. Its filled with stepbystep instructions, pictures, and a hyperdetailed process for. Professionally formatted text is an important part of book design.

Then change the style of the first chapter heading. Sign up for our free book templates in word and indesign, so you can quickly format your book without the amateur mistakes and hairpulling frustration. Every time you publish a new book, all you have to do is open the word file and add the new title to your backlist section. Attention to proper formatting will help your submission stand out. Word expert and indie author ian andrew is based in australia. Select the normal indoarabic format in number format dropdown. To do this, click on the table of contents in your word document so that you select the table, go to the references tab, and choose update table in the bar this will open a dialog box with additional options page numbers only if you only edited, added, and removed parts of the. Now, select an area of text, such as the title in the image above, and then click on the style and your text will be changed to the new format. In the first section, go to format page numbers option. Also in the page numbering option, select start at and type 1 in the text box. Here in the number format dropdown, select the roman numeral format. If youre interested in being a beta reader, please contact me using the email form here. If you have any problems with using word s styles gallery and pane, drop me a note in the comments and ill do my best to fix the issue. A clear hierarchy and readable typeface help create a layout that is inviting to your reader.

Once the file has been inserted, view the page size on your as two pages. How to format your book for amazon kindle using microsoft. Any word processor like word will have the same issues shown in the article. You have now put your book in the correct basic format. Make sure to apply to the whole document instead of this section. Click the insert tab, then click the bookmark button. Please select one of the page sizes available, according to the nature of your book.

Here are some tips that would ensure that you book looks professional and is printed well with. If you use microsoft word, heres how your paragraph settings should look. How to format a novel in microsoft word selfpublishing. If you dont use microsoft word you can still use completelynovel, but we will ask you to convert your manuscript into a pdf format. Common mistakes made when writing a book in microsoft word. Files can be converted to pdf using open office a free suite of programs similar to microsoft office, or a variety of other free or paidfor pdfcreating software. Go to format page numbers option in the second section. Tips for formatting your book correctly in microsoft word. Heres how to use the styles function in microsoft word to ensure the various.

Using the styles function in word can help you ensure your books font and spacing is consistent. Well walk you through the steps to format your word document for printing a book that is a 5. In a few clicks, it can help you format your title page, table of contents, and individual paragraphs and change your books look and feel by applying themes. On the bookmark window, type toc in the bookmark name field see below. Drop down two more lines and type by and then your author name. Click size more paper sizes and set the document to 6x9 or your book size. Ensure you take the time to explore the different options available for formatting your manuscript because a clean design is a vital part of publishing success. How to format your book for kindle using microsoft word in.

However if your ebook does not contain these formatting issues, here are 6 easy steps to turn your microsoft word document into a kindle book. Word automatically compresses images when converting to pdf so, if you have a nonfiction book with images and complicated formatting, consider using a thirdparty service or plugin to convert your. Go to the amazon page of each of your books and copy the url of the page. Type it clean use the default settings in microsoft word. Start with the word document i developed while filming this video and tweak to your liking. If your document already has content, the text is formatted automatically, but you might need to adjust objects like images and tables manually. The margin size you will want will depend on a few different factors final page length of your book. And even if you dont plan to do your own book formatting, there is a wealth of knowledge to be had by reading this book. The orientation automatically changes to landscape. Do the same for any credit text you have at the beginning of the book by selecting the text and then clicking the centred style.

Drop down to the middle of the page, and type the title of your manuscript in all capital letters. Highlight the address, rightclick, and select copy. Keep in mind that even though your book may be formatted in one page size, you can easily include 8. For the many indie authors who still favor microsoft word for formatting their.

Here are some tips that would ensure that you book looks professional and is printed well. Here are the basics steps on formatting your manuscript in microsoft word for self publication. The stepbystep guide to formatting your print book for kdp. You want to ensure they see your every last word, so give your words room to breathe on the page. Build your book format a paperback manuscript word for. How to format your book for self publication bookstand. If you are a selfpublishing author who wants to know how to typeset a book, there are plenty of tools and resources available to you.

In word, do this either by using the ruler bar at the top of the page, or by setting first line by 0. The list of supported page sizes is available here. Open up word or get out a pen and paper if youd like. When youre done, share your writing in the comments. Are your formatting your book in ms word or other word processors. Our unique approach gives you all the tools, help and information you need to create outstanding books and enable you to keep every penny of your book royalties. Using styles also saves you time because you dont have to format the font and spacing for each part of your book. Create your book in five steps with our easytouse online tools. Dont forget to comment on your fellow writers work. How to format a book in word a stepbystep tutorial youtube. How to format your word document for book printing on mac or pc. Many writers use ms word for ebook formatting but this shouldnt be your choice by default.

How to format your book for self publication bookstand publishing. Because word is a flexible word processing system, you can simply use a book template within word, and start typing your book directly onto the page. The goal when youre selfpublishing is to always make your book look as traditionally published as possible, so im giving you a stepby0step guide on formatting your novel. Dont worry about page setup, formatting, or which program youre going to use. And because any style can be tweaked, you get to change your mind as often as you like. If your book is in separate files, for example each chapter in its own file, you must insert chapter one, then place the cursor at the end of chapter one and insert chapter two, and so on, into the main book file. Typesetting and formatting your book completelynovel. If you make any changes in the book later on, youll have to manually update the table of contents though. Plus, that makes it really easy to update your manuscripts. Depending on your ebook, some steps may be unnecessary e. Its recommended that you adjust these setting before writing the content of your book to prevent formatting issues late on. Change the setting for multiple pages to book fold.